If he cannot skate well enough to keep up with the play in the NHL it doesn't matter how many points he has scored in other leagues. A good example of a N.A. born player who fits a similar mold is TJ Hensick. Good hands and vision but cannot buy himself enough time and space to use it in the NHL.

If he cannot skate well enough to keep up with the play in the NHL it doesn't matter how many points he has scored in other leagues.

This isn't quite true. Skating well is crucial in KHL, even more than NHL because of the big ice. Jagr couldn't skate well enough to be a point per game player in KHL, but seems to handle himself fine in the NHL rinks. Lehtera can skate well enough for NHL and would be at least a 40 point player, no doubt about it. But for him to go to NHL he should take what, like four million paycut. It's possible but I think he'll at least make some money first in KHL.

I really like Tarasenko, though admittedly I've only been able to watch full games of his at the last two WJCs. He has a game built for North American hockey IMO, he's very strong on his skates, seems unafraid of contact (huge difference from Filatov here), great hands, quite a good skater (not a "beautiful" stride, but very good acceleration and a solid, wide stance), fairly high all around skill level and a beauty of a shot, he's not one of these "all flash, no substance guys" that get teams in trouble, he does his work quickly and efficiently. Filatov and Zherdev comparisons are unwarranted IMO, he plays nothing like them. I see his upside as a sort of Radulov/Kulemin hybrid, mid way between the two in terms of skill, hustle, strength on skates, etc., hopefully with more of a Kulemin type personality.

There's always a risk with Russian players that they won't come over, but for guys with Tarasenko's potential, they generally DO come to the NHL. He's also had a few injuries, but I don't think they've been too bad - broken orbital bone and a not-too-severe shoulder injury if I remember correctly? If he comes over and is healthy, I'd be pretty excited about him as a Blues fan, seems like a very legit NHL talent.

I'll stick with what I said in this thread in July, Tarasenko is a bull with talent to boot, and a game made for the NHL. If he had come over this year he'd likely be a Calder favourite. Hopefully he comes over next year, can't wait to watch him in the NHL. The Semin comparisons are ridiculous, he plays nothing like Semin - not as skilled as Semin (very, very few players are), but he's a real heart and soul, hard working player, don't get why anyone would see him as lazy or soft. Sure some Russian players can have off-ice problems/motivation issues, but plenty are very hard working and great locker room guys. Guys like Datsyuk, Ovechkin, Kulemin, Volchenkov, Markov, etc. leave it all out on the ice, and I'd say Tarasenko is clearly more in their mold (personality wise) than in the mold of a Semin, Zherdev or Filatov type player.

I always viewed Tarasenko as an Oshie with more talent, and that's no knock on Oshie because he has lots of talent. I think they both play a hard nosed game but I think Tarasenko has more offensive skills. Oshie's celing is 25-28 goals and Tanks is 35-40, imo of coarse.

This thread sure took an odd turn with the Schwartz vs. Tarasenko debate. I'd put Tarasenko just a bit ahead but I'll note that I'm VERY glad that the Blues have both and will also say that it's extremely hard to compare a 5'10" offensive dynamo in the NCAA with a very skilled "tank" playing in the KHL. They play very different games in very different leagues but both are VERY good in their own right.

This isn't quite true. Skating well is crucial in KHL, even more than NHL because of the big ice. Jagr couldn't skate well enough to be a point per game player in KHL, but seems to handle himself fine in the NHL rinks. Lehtera can skate well enough for NHL and would be at least a 40 point player, no doubt about it. But for him to go to NHL he should take what, like four million paycut. It's possible but I think he'll at least make some money first in KHL.

I'm not sure where you're getting the $4 million paycut part from. From what I understand, Lehtera is making $1M in the KHL this season. He'd probably make about that in the NHL with of course the opportunity to make much more down the line if things work out well. Where the problem could be is if the Blues are only willing to offer a two-way deal, will Lehtera be willing to play for not very much in the AHL to try to work his way up to the NHL? That's the unanswered question with Lehtera.

I'm not sure where you're getting the $4 million paycut part from. From what I understand, Lehtera is making $1M in the KHL this season. He'd probably make about that in the NHL with of course the opportunity to make much more down the line if things work out well. Where the problem could be is if the Blues are only willing to offer a two-way deal, will Lehtera be willing to play for not very much in the AHL to try to work his way up to the NHL? That's the unanswered question with Lehtera.

He is paying 4 times less in taxes in Russia anyway.

If anyone thinks skating isn't important in the KHL, they obsiously haven't watched any games. It's probably one of the most important aspects of playing on a big rink- maybe second only to passing, think about it..

If anyone thinks skating isn't important in the KHL, they obsiously haven't watched any games. It's probably one of the most important aspects of playing on a big rink- maybe second only to passing, think about it..

On big ice, you (naturally) have more time and space, so you can rely more on top-end speed and positioning to create opportunities. On small ice, time and space are at a premium. A player needs to rely much more on acceleration and agility, or brute strength, to create separation (and thus, opportunities).

From my (admittedly limited) viewings of Lehtera, his top-end speed looks no better than average for his size, and his acceleration and agility are (IMO) definitely below NHL average. Again, IMO, he doesn't yet have the strength (or playing style) to overcome those skating limitations to become a strong secondary scoring threat (50-60 points) in the NHL.

He has strong instincts in the offensive zone, excellent vision, good hands, and very good passing ability...that should be enough to net him around 40ish points in the NHL assuming some decent amount of PP time (where I think he would be a solid contributor).

That leaves him fairly clearly behind a good number of current Blues forwards in the competition for top 6 minutes, and I don't see his game as translating strongly to a bottom 6 role where strong (fore and back) checking, defensive play, and physicality are emphasized.

Perhaps I'm wrong...I'm far from a KHL expert. The opinions of anyone who watches him on a regular basis would be welcome in this thread.

It might change as the day progresses and more games are played, but Tarasenko has
the most goals in the KHL right now. Points-wise, Lehtera and Tarasenko are in the Top 4 (http://www.khl.ru/stat/leaders/202/pts/).

That goal at around the 2:25 mark is just sick. Very nice effort getting the puck to an open man for the empty netter as well. That's what I'm liking the most about this kid - he's not only supremely skilled, he also works his ass off.

That goal at around the 2:25 mark is just sick. Very nice effort getting the puck to an open man for the empty netter as well. That's what I'm liking the most about this kid - he's not only supremely skilled, he also works his ass off.

I also thought that pass was great. Considering he was falling down, it was a back-handed pass and he only had one hand on his stick, the speed and accuracy of the pass was impressive.

It's amazing what he can accomplish with more ice time! I think he would have put up better numbers last year if he had been given a larger role with the team. It looks like he made a good decision to stay in Russia for one more year and will be ready for the NHL next year. I think he could have helped Russia at the WJC had they given him more ice time last year.

What I really like about Tarasenko from the limited games that I have watched is that he is not a selfish player and has very good play making skills and uses his teammates well.

I'm looking forward to seeing him in the NHL next year. It looks like Nikita Nikitan is doing well for the Blues so far, so Tarasenko would have someone on the team who has already gone through the adjustment of learning the language and adjusting to the culture in the US.